Robert Burnett Mellard (13 May 1919 – 19 September 1976) was an American soldier who fought in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

and

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, serving in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

from 1938 to 1959. He fought at the

Battle of Monte Cassino The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome, was a series of four military assaults by the Allies of World War II, Allies against Nazi Germany, German forces in Kingdom of Italy, Italy during the Italian Campaign (World War ...

and was part of the earliest strike landings at

Saint-Tropez, France Saint-Tropez ( , ; ) is a commune in the Var department and the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Southern France. It is west of Nice and east of Marseille, on the French Riviera, of which it is one of the best-known towns. In 2018, Sa ...

, Fedala, Licata, Sicily and the

Battle of Anzio The Battle of Anzio was a battle of the Italian Campaign (World War II), Italian Campaign of World War II that commenced January 22, 1944. The battle began with the Allies of World War II, Allied amphibious landing known as Operation Shingle, an ...

. For his service, Mellard was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation,

Combat Infantryman Badge The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is a United States Army military decoration. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces (United States Army), Special Forces soldiers in the rank of Colonel (United States), colonel and below, wh ...

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

and his unit received the French Croix de Guerre.

Personal life

Mellard was born on May 13, 1919, in Hope, New Mexico to Robert Burnett Mellard and Clyde Carrie Upchurch.

Ancestry.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. It is owned by The ...

Before joining the

Camp Roberts, California Camp Roberts is a California National Guard post in central California, located on both sides of the Salinas River in Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties, now run by the California Army National Guard. It was opened in 1941 and is named afte ...

, he completed three years of high school, was an

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

, and lived in

Billings County, North Dakota Billings County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 945, and was estimated to be 1,063 in 2024, making it the second-least populous county in North Dakota. The county seat and only incorpora ...

and

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. Mellard is the nephew of Frank Courtney Mellard and married Helen Kanski

. ''Washington, U.S., County Marriages, 1855–2008'' atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. on May 5, 1941, in

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington. It had a population of 55,605 at the 2020 census, making it the state of Washington's 23rd-most populous city. Olympia is the county seat of Thurston County, and the central city ...

. Mellard left for Europe on October 22, 1942, and did not see his wife again until their fourth anniversary in 1945 after traveling from

Camp Patrick Henry Camp Patrick Henry is a decommissioned United States Army base which was located in Warwick County, Virginia. After World War II, the site was redeveloped as a commercial airport, and became part of City of Newport News in 1958 when the former C ...

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

. On September 26, 1948, the couple filed for divorce. Mellard married Ida Louise Krast in

Thurston County, Washington Thurston County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 294,793. The county seat is Olympia, Washington, Olympia, the ...

, on April 22, 1949 and Aileen Cameron on November 1, 1961. He later became a member of the San Francisco Real Estate Board.

US Army service

Mellard joined the

in 1938 and his unit was Company D, 32nd Infantry Division at

Fort Ord Fort Ord is a former United States Army post on Monterey Bay on the Pacific Ocean coast in California, which closed in 1994 due to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) action. Most of the fort's land now makes up the Fort Ord National Monument, ...

. During

, he was a platoon sergeant for the Third Infantry Division. Mellard was stationed in Africa but spent much of his time in battle throughout Europe in Sicily, Italy, France and Germany. Mellard was part of the first assaults at Saint-Tropez, France, Fedala, North Africa, Licata, Sicily and the

. During combat at the

Alsace–Lorraine Alsace–Lorraine (German language, German: ''Elsaß–Lothringen''), officially the Imperial Territory of Alsace–Lorraine (), was a territory of the German Empire, located in modern-day France. It was established in 1871 by the German Empire ...

and France, he was wounded on his back, hands and legs from

heavy artillery The formal definition of large-calibre artillery used by the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms (UNROCA) is "guns, howitzers, artillery pieces, combining the characteristics of a gun, howitzer, mortar, or rocket, capable of engaging ...

and recovered from his injuries at

Letterman General Hospital The Letterman Digital Arts Center (LDAC), is an institution located in the Presidio, San Francisco, that has served as the combined home of Industrial Light & Magic, Lucasfilm Games, Lucasfilm Animation and Lucasfilm's marketing, online, a ...

. Mellard enlisted in the

from April 1, 1951 – May 1, 1954.State of California. ''California Death Index, 1940–1997''. Sacramento, CA, USA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics. On October 31, 1959, he enlisted in the

as a

chief warrant officer Chief warrant officer is a senior warrant officer rank, used in many countries. Canadian Armed Forces In the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), a chief warrant officer or CWO is the most senior non-commissioned member (NCM) rank for army and air fo ...

. While stationed in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, Mellard was awarded the

for his service on January 25, 1944, in Italy. He and a corporal ignored heavy fire in the line of duty, inching their way 100 yards outside of his infantry battalion, setting up a M252 mortar observation from a

farmhouse FarmHouse (FH) is a men's social fraternity founded at the University of Missouri on April 15, 1905. It became a national organization in 1921. Today FarmHouse has 34 active chapters in the United States and Canada.FarmHouse Fraternity New Memb ...

. From his post, he directed mortar fire that destroyed an

anti-tank gun An anti-tank gun is a form of artillery designed to destroy tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, normally from a static defensive position. The development of specialized anti-tank munitions and anti-tank guns was prompted by the appearance ...

, a machine gun, several enemy personnel and took out three motorcyclists. At one point, Mellard killed a German who attempted to flank him. A liaison officer and battalion commander were able to make their way to them, but the four of them took fire. Mellard and the corporal managed to retreat, but the commander was wounded and the officer was killed.

Auto accidents

Moss Landing

On July 29, 1940, Mellard and three members of his unit were in an automobile that overturned near

Moss Landing, California Moss Landing, formerly Moss, is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Monterey County, California, United States. It is located north-northeast of Monterey, at an elevation of . It is on the shore of Monterey Bay, at ...

. He was a passenger and was treated for serious injuries at a hospital in

Presidio of Monterey, California The Presidio of Monterey (POM), located in Monterey, California, is an active United States Army, US Army installation with historic ties to the Spanish colonial era. Currently, it is the home of the Defense Language Institute, Defense Langua ...

Hit and run

On November 8, 1946, Mellard was driving an Army recruiting truck in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, when he hit Johnnie Calvin James. James died at the scene and Mellard fled. He reported the accident to his superior officers at Camp Knight and was charged on felony

hit and run In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the criminal act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions. Additional obligation In many jurisdictions, there ma ...

and

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

. He was booked at Oakland City Jail and held on $4,000 bail. He pleaded guilty and a second account of manslaughter was dismissed. He went before a judge for sentencing on December 30."Soldier Asks Probation". ''

Oakland Tribune The ''Oakland Tribune'' was a daily newspaper published in Oakland, California, and a predecessor of the '' East Bay Times''. It was published by the Bay Area News Group (BANG), a subsidiary of MediaNews Group. Founded in 1874, the ''Tribune'' ...

''. 145 (163): 7. 1946-12-10 – via

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. It is owned by The ...

Death

Mellard died on September 19, 1976, in San Francisco, California. He was buried at Skylawn Memorial Park in

San Mateo County, California San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City, California, Redwood City is th ...

Commendations

References

External links

*
Robert Mellard
at Hall of Valor {{DEFAULTSORT:Mellard, Robert 1919 births 1976 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II American recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Recipients of the Silver Star People from the San Francisco Bay Area People charged with manslaughter Military personnel from New Mexico People from Eddy County, New Mexico United States Army personnel of the Korean War United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War American real estate brokers American electrical engineers People from Billings County, North Dakota Military personnel from San Diego Military personnel from San Francisco